


now ceased from distressing

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Fluff, Pregnancy, Romance, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8618272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Caitlin's not one for swearing so, on Thanksgiving morning, when a word slips past her lips that would make Joe give serious thought to washing out the mouth of one of his kids if they'd said it, he stops in his tracks and takes notice.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme : free for all  
> Prompt: The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, Caitlin is pregnant and grumpy and they are hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/769396.html?thread=100784244#t100784244

Caitlin's not one for swearing so, on Thanksgiving morning, when a word slips past her lips that would make Joe give serious thought to washing out the mouth of one of his kids if they'd said it, he stops in his tracks and takes notice. Not just at the word itself, though that's bad enough. What's worse is the tone of her voice, the utter vehemence with which she says it. When he looks at her, he sees cheeks flushed red with irritation, eyes that glitter dangerously and he finds himself swallowing hard. She's been grumpy all morning and he's put it down to any of about a dozen different reasons, has been waiting for her to come out of it on her own. Looking at her now, he thinks intervention may be required. 

He glances at Wally who's staring between him and Caitlin, all wide eyes and shell shocked face and he feels sorry for the kid, who's definitely not used to seeing Caitlin like this. Wally looks like he'd rather be anywhere else, and not just because he hates preparing vegetables. Jerking his head towards the door, Joe sends him an unmistakable message and the kid doesn't even blink, just nods once and books. Only when his footsteps running up the stairs have faded and when Joe hears the bedroom door closing does he step behind Caitlin, resting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing gently. What he feels there - solid knots of tension - makes him wince. "Take a break," he says as he leans forward, presses a kiss to her temple and she takes him at his word, sagging back against him and letting him support her weight. He slides his hands down her arms, closing one hand over hers, resting the other on the slight swell of her stomach that's barely visible underneath her oversized sweatshirt. "Want to tell me what's bugging you?" 

There's a slight huff of breath, normal temperature. He's happy about that. "It's stupid." 

He chuckles with no real humour. "Sweetheart, if it's making you use words like that, it's not stupid. You just scared Wally out of about ten years of life." 

She bites her lip and he turns her in his arms so that she's facing him, loops his arms loosely around her waist. She could break the hold if she really wanted to but instead she leans into him, rests her head against his shoulder and sighs. "I had a dress for today," she says quietly and he remembers her showing it to him a few weeks ago, remembers the misgivings that he hadn't voiced. He thinks he knows where this is heading but doesn't say anything, sensing that she needs to let it out. "And I put it on this morning. But I've got bigger than I thought over the last couple of weeks and it's too tight across my chest and stomach... and now I've noticed it, nothing else looks right either." 

He doesn't say anything, just nods his head and lets a hand trail up and down her back. He'd noticed the changes to her body, hadn't found them in any way objectionable but for Caitlin, who hadn't carried an ounce of extra weight in all the years he'd known her, he could imagine the change, when finally noticed, would be disconcerting. 

"So I'm going to have to go out and buy some clothes that actually fit, but everywhere is closed today and tomorrow is Black Friday so it's going to be insane and I still have nothing nice to wear today and it's our first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner and I wanted it to be perfect. Except I'm annoyed over the stupid dress and I'm scared my hormones are going to cause a surge in my powers and Wally's got that new cologne which is making me nauseated because of how strong it is and I'm so tired and it's barely eleven in the morning..." Her voice trails off as she sniffs loudly, lifts her head and wipes her eyes. "I'm such a mess." 

"Yeah." He smiles at her as he cups her face in his hands, uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "But you're my mess." 

She does actually laugh at that - lucky for him - and he feels her lips curve in a smile as he kisses her. "Anything else bothering you?" he asks afterwards, just to be sure and she sighs. 

"Iris is still hardly talking to me." He frowns at that because he'd thought things were getting better. Then again, Iris had only been barely coming around to the notion of him and Caitlin as a couple when they'd had to tell everyone that Caitlin was pregnant. That had been good for another few days of radio silence but afterwards she was at least talking to him like normal. "Barry's caught in the middle... he has to talk to me, he wants to talk to me but he doesn't want to upset Iris so he feels like he can't." One hand smooths down the front of her sweatshirt, tugs the material down tightly, making the still small bump more obvious. "Ever since this became noticeable, it's like Wally can hardly look at me... I think he was fine with us when he could pretend not to think about the logistics of it, but now there's actual evidence that we've had sex..." Her voice trails off and she gives him a small smile. "And Cisco... every time I move, he's asking me if I'm ok, like he's afraid I'm going to give birth then and there. If he could build me a suit made of cotton wool, I swear he would." 

She hasn't been out in the field since they learned she was pregnant - the work they did was the whole reason they'd had to tell everyone far earlier than they'd wanted, certainly far earlier than was conventionally proper - but Joe still thinks that if Cisco could make a suit like that, he wouldn't say no to her wearing it. He knows better than to say that aloud, though, especially given her current mood. Instead he makes circles on her back with one hand, kisses her forehead. "Why am I only hearing about all this now?" 

Caitlin lifts an eyebrow, almost in challenge. "So you could worry about me even more than you already are?" 

There's nothing he can say to that so he just tilts his head in wordless acknowledgement. "Where's my phone?" he says instead and she blinks in obvious confusion. 

"Who are you-"

"I'm calling Barry to tell him that, once this turkey's done, he and Wally need to organise bringing all this food over to his and Iris's place. Then I'm calling Cisco to tell him the feast's been moved over there, he can pick HR up on the way." Her jaw drops slightly and he rests his hands on her hips, pulls her close against him. "We're gonna stay here, curl up on the couch and be lazy, see nobody, do nothing... or if they can't have everyone there, we'll sneak off to STAR Labs... I happen to know of at least one office there with a very comfortable couch..." His smile is teasing, hers is knowing, because they're both fairly sure that the evidence of just how comfortable they both find that couch is currently rounding her stomach. 

Her cheeks flush, even as her head moves from side to side. "Joe, we can't... They're your family..."

"You're my family too," he reminds her, sliding one hand under her sweatshirt, splaying his fingers across her stomach, sweeping his thumb up across her skin. "You and this little one. And if you need a day off, that's what you're gonna get. No matter what day it is." 

Caitlin's eyes are suspiciously bright, even brighter than when they'd started this conversation. The difference is that this time she's smiling up at him, much of the tension gone from her shoulders. "You don't have to do that," she tells him and when he opens his mouth to protest, she raises herself onto her tiptoes, brushes her lips across his. "But it means the world to me that you would." 

He kisses her again then, lets his tongue trace the seam of her lips gently and she opens her mouth under his, deepening the kiss. He doesn't know how long they stay like that but he does know what makes him pull away - the sharp sensation of an unmistakable kick against his palm. 

"Is that..." He can't help the gasp that escapes his lips and she grins, lays her hand on top of his as she nods. She's been feeling movements and flutters for the last couple of weeks and, at almost twenty weeks, he'd known it wouldn't be long until he felt them too. That it should happen today, after this conversation, was a more than welcome surprise. 

"Guess someone wants to say hello," she murmurs and he grins more than he has all day as he pulls her close and kisses her again, knowing that he's just discovered one more thing to be thankful for.


End file.
